


Famous Love

by strawberry_macaroons



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Ladrien June, Secret Identity, Secret dating, ladrienjune, ladrienjune2020, secretdating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24459706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberry_macaroons/pseuds/strawberry_macaroons
Summary: When one day Adrien slips up and admits his crush on Ladybug, an unexpected revelation happens. Ladybug admitted that she reciprocated his feelings. Both are famous to the public's eye, will this famous love work out in the end? Or will their secrets and statuses get in the way?
Relationships: Adrinette - Relationship, Alno - Relationship, Alyno - Relationship, Djwifi - Relationship, Ladrien - Relationship, adrienette, ladynoir
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

I am back with a Ladrien June 2020 fanfiction! As always, this story isn't only for June! It can be read at any time, any month, any year! So there's no need t ditch this book because of that.

I have never written Ladrien fanfiction before, but I have read a few and they were simply amazing! I am super excited to begin writing this!

Ladrien is such an underrated ship, even though it ties for my second favourite with Marichat. So therefore I will prove to you all that this ship is infact just as good and developping as the rest, maybe even the key here to the development of the other ships as well. I couldn't resist to not take part. Anyway, I will try to update every day in June.

This will take place right after Chat Blanc for many reasons, so therefore Adrigami and Lukanette did not happen yet.

I hope you will enjoy!


	2. My Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is shocked when she receives the news that Ladybug would be modelling with Adrien Agreste, the news leaving Adrien a nervous wreck.

Marinette droopily shoved a spoonful of yogurt into her mouth as she stared at pictures of her crush, Adrien Agreste, that were saved onto a super confidential file on her computer to hide from her parents in case they decided to snoop around. She hadn't yet gotten dressed for school, she was just having a 'quick' morning breakfast as she daydreamed about a particular blond boy.

"He's so handsome." she mused out as a stupid lovesick grin wiped onto her face as she tilted her head slightly, "As handsome as a prince."

"Seriously, Marinette?" Tikki mentally facepalmed as she zipped over to her owner and sat herself down on the desk surface before her, "You're going to be late for school. I know you don't like Mondays, but you better hurry up."

"My prince," Marinette uttered hopelessly as she placed a soft and tender kiss on her computer screen, inhaling sharply as she forced her hand to click the exit button on her computer mouse. Ah, how the bluenette thought her enormous crush on the model would become better-controlled over the months, but no, it only seemed to get worse as she began to become desperate.

She sometimes wished she would have those happy and magical endings like in fairytales where the prince and the princess live happily ever after without any problems, but no, life just wasn't the same as fairytales, life was much more complicated than that. You couldn't just have a happy ending without suffering, Marinette used to believe in happily ever afters, but seeing her hopeless love towards her crush spark no interest to him made her forget why she ever did.

If only the world was as simple as it should have been, things would have been so much easier. Love would have been much easier.

As the bluenette acknowledged that she was yet again lost in thought that day, she forced her brain to stop processing the hopeless thoughts and shove them at the back of her mind for midnight patrols and began to make her way to her closet miserably, practically dragging herself on the way there.

Marinette absolutely hated Mondays, they were her worst nightmare, since usually, everything was due that day, also on the account that it was the first day of the school week. School was pretty easy for her since she was a fairly good student and listened almost all of the time when she wasn't busy staring and outlining every strand of Adrien's hair. Everything seemed to revolve around Adrien those days, her secret duty as Ladybug also being greatly affected by her crush on the teenage boy.

What was she even trying for? Trying to get rejected? Was she trying to get her heart broken? Trying to make a total fool of herself? 

Marinette was a girl who used to believe in happily ever afters. She was the type of girl who used to be naïve. Marinette was the type of girl who had fallen into an endless pit of Adrien's faces surrounding her, and there wasn't one thing in the world that could make her fall out of it.

—

Adrien was practically tugging at his hair as Plagg silently watched his owner have a mini breakdown.

"I can't do this!" the blond wailed as he threw his hands up in the air, only to bring them back down at his sides, "I can't possibly be having a photoshoot with Ladybug! I'm going to probably slip up and admit that I like her if I get too close to blushing."

"Correction, you will slip up and make a fool of yourself anyway." the black creature cackled maniacally, only to be silenced by his holder's death glare, returning to his cheese stash to find a good piece of Camembert.

"Why did my father agree to this?" the teenage boy combed his hair back as he grabbed the phone out of his pocket, only to be receiving millions of messages, emails and updates on his schedule. He groaned before shutting it off again and slipped it back into the pocket of his jeans.

"Maybe to make your hopeless wish come true?"

"Forget it." Adrien rolled his eyes before sliding his school bag over his shoulder, "There's no way I can possibly survive. What's there to survive anyway? A gorgeous-looking woman that I am over the top crazy for? I really am pathetic."

Plagg wiped an imaginary tear as he bent over in laughter, "Couldn't have said it any better myself."

—

The two teens dragged themselves up the school staircase, not even noticing that the other was literally right next to them until a crazy-looking Alya zipped out of the school, quick to meet them. "MARINETTE, ADRIEN!"

"What?" they questioned at the same time, only then realizing that they were in fact beside each other. Nino then came rushing out of the school as well, panting heavily as he chocked out, "Alya! Slow down!"

"I cannot believe it!" the brunette beamed, poking a finger in Adrien's chest, "Mr model here will be having a photoshoot with Ladybug!"

Marinette chocked on plain air, her eyes widening in horror as she realized what this meant, "A WHAT?!"

"Ladybug still hadn't agreed to it, though." the blond sighed, combing his hand through his hair, "I just learned about it today. I have no idea what got my father to arrange such a thing. Probably for the brand..."

"Did you manage to get in contact with her?" Marinette spoke up, Adrien immediately shaking his head.

"No, I think my father wants to wait until another akuma attack to get in contact with her."

The bluenette nodded, a small smile tugging on her lips, "I'm sure she'll agree to it."

"I hope so, it seems that this is really important to the brand."

Marinette nodded, "She'll understand, I'm sure she could spare a little bit of time."

"Thanks, Marinette." Adrien smiled fondly, patting his friend's shoulder thankfully as he walked inside the school with Nino.

"I'm never washing my jacket ever again." the bluenette sighed dreamily, Alya facepalming at her friend's lovesick reaction. The blogger took a breath in, annoyedly exhaling, "Girl, you need some serious help."

The heroine shot her head up, by instinct lifting her arm up to see what time it was, but found that she had no watch around her wrist. She shook her head before grabbing her phone out, a high pitch squeak emanating from the back of her throat as she dashed into the school, a worried-looking Alya following from behind.

"Girl, slow down!" she hurried after her, Marinette taking no opportunity to slow down as she rushed into her locker room and yanked open the locker.

"Marinette..." Alya tapped her foot as she watched her best friend stuff her belongings into the small space, "Listen to me!"

"What?!" the pigtailed girl demanded, whipping her head around to see Alya who was chuckling with amusement.

"Did you forget?" the brunette facepalmed, readjusting her glasses that sat neatly on her nose as a playful smile tugged at her lips, "Today's Monday. So for us right now is lunch break."

"Oh." the girl squeaked, bringing her gaze shamefully down as she was being enveloped in her pathetic embarrassment.

Before they could speak any further, a scream erupted from down the hall, the two girls' ears perking up as they knew what was happening.

"Akuma!!!" someone screamed, followed by distinctive gasps. Marinette knew too well the routine that she was going to be following. It came to her as easy as it was to sing the ABC's.

"I'm so going to go film this for the Ladyblog!" Alya squealed, grabbing her phone out and immediately sprinted down the hallway.

Marinette never fully understood why Alya was putting herself in direct danger just for the sake of her blog. At least she had her to save her, more so Ladybug. The blog was a priority and life to Alya, but her own life should have been more valuable than a blog. No one had ever gotten severely injured because of an akuma attack, but it still was possible. They couldn't think it was some sort of game that was a certain victory for Ladybug and Chat Noir all the time.

Because truth was, it wasn't a game. It was a life-risking job that had to be done. One-wrong-move-and-all-of-Paris-is-dead type of job.

Sucking up her fears, Marinette dashed over to the nearest room, conveniently being the girl's bathroom, ready to transform into her alter ego.

"Tikki, spots on!" she shouted as she locked herself in a stall. A red, spot imprinted costume enveloped the teenage girl, transforming her into her bug-themed counterpart.

She slammed the locker open and zipped out of the room. Now all she has to do was wait for Chat Noir, then they would be starting the real action.

As she started running down the hall, she bumped into someone, having the reflexes that she had, tried to catch whoever she toppled over, but inconveniently sent themselves propelling backwards, landing on the ground with a loud thud.

"Sorry!" Ladybug squeaked, dusting herself off before she laid eyes on the boy before her. She gulped, her throat immediately feeling like dry cotton as she found the sudden pain of speaking, "Adrien Agreste?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first day, finished! Updates every day or every couple of days as previously stated. ;)


	3. Public Eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Ladybug and Adrien are ready to start their photoshoot, reporter Nadja Chamack bombards them with personal questions, things from there going haywire.

"U-Uh..." Adrien started, holding his hands up and sent two awkward finger guns in her direction, "Y-Yeah! That's me!"

How does she know my name? Duh, well, of course, she knows who you are! Everyone in Paris does! Mostly the whole world! Who am I kidding? Adrien mentally cursed himself for acting like a blushing mess in front of his lady who he very much was in love with.

"There's no time!" the heroine yelled, standing up determinedly and lent the bewildered blond before her a hand, "I have to go take care of this akuma, we'll talk later about that photoshoot."

Adrien blinked, "How-?"

Before he could proceed to speak the rest of his sentence, Ladybug took off towards the heart of the battle, a smug-looking Plagg popping his head out of Adrien's blazer.

"Aww, lover boy's happy that senpai noticed him?"

"PLAGG!" the teenager hissed, shoving the black creature back into his blazer. He took one good glance around before dashing down his school's hallway on the search for a secretive place to transform. But since when was his kwami interested in his love life? That was probably a question to be saved for another day.

—

"Pound it!" Ladybug and Chat Noir did their signature fist bump as the little white butterfly spread its wings and fluttered away into the daylight sunlight. It was somehow satisfying to be victorious and do the signature praise of their work, to Chat Noir it was a symbol of true friendship, indeed it was.

Ladybug quickly grabbed her yo-yo out without saying another word and zipped towards François-Dupont high school, only then was Adrien hit with the large realization on who she was planning on seeing.

"Shoot!" he yelled frantically as he quickly extended his baton and made a few turns to head on a short cut. He was so dumb. Ladybug was looking for him, well, more like his civilian self, to talk about the photoshoot, when he was currently Chat Noir. Talk about alter ego problems.

He quickly slipped by a wall, letting his costume melt away as the green flash evaporated into thin air. He ruffled his locks of blond hair and adjusted the ruffled collar of his shirt. His kwami zipped out of the ring, landing dramatically on his owner's shoulder, a look of devastation written all over his features.

"Camembert!" his kwami whined, the blond quickly throwing a chunk of cheese in his direction.

The model nodded, tucking the kwami safe in his blazer before glancing around to make sure no one was around the premises. He hesitantly placed a gentle footfall from behind the wall, almost immediately being startled by a red figure that had swung before him.

A high pitched yelp emanated from his throat as he jumped back in defence, ready to be on guard in case this was another supervillain. What surprised him the most was that the figure held her hands up, Adrien having to take a moment before he noticed the familiar midnight pigtails and extraordinary bluebell eyes.

"O-Oh..." he nervously chuckled as he let a breath he didn't even know he was holding out, trying with all of his might to form a smile, miserably failing as a wonky love-sick look took over, "Hey, Ladybug."

"I'm so sorry for scaring you!" the girl sincerely apologized as a look of worriedness crossed her features. 

"No worries." the blond smiled as he placed his hand on her shoulder before turning beet red as he realized what he had done and quickly removed it, carefully bringing his hand down at his side, "Anyway, about that photoshoot..."

"Oh, yeah!" she chimed, her pink lips forming a wide smile, "I'll be able to come! When is it, tomorrow?"

He absolutely loved being on the receiving ends of her bright cheery smiles. It brightened up his day no matter how down he was feeling about his home issues and anything in general. That was exactly why he couldn't stand to be mad at her, she was too cute.

"Y-Yeah." he breathed, his eyes softening as he met her eyes, "It's tomorrow."

"Alright then." Ladybug flashed him another one of her smiles before a smug look appeared on her face, soon followed by a wink, "I'll make sure to be there, Sunshine."

Adrien blinked, his cheeks flushing a deep red as he nervously chuckled, "T-Thanks!"

As she turned around, a thought entered Marinette's mind, the bluenette smiling shyly as she turned to her crush again who was staring at the back of her head, "Hey, do you need a ride home?"

"A-A ride?" the model chocked out, the red-costumed teenage girl nodding. He felt the tips of his ears turn red as a burning sensation engulfed his chest. His breathing suddenly became heavier and uneven as thoughts wandered at the back of his mind, screaming at him to decline as he would probably be way too uncomfortable being that close to her. All the while his heart yearned to accept.

Adrien Agreste was the type of boy who listened to his heart, even though he knew his brain would be sometimes right. He was the type of boy who believed in happily ever afters with all of his heart because he knew he would one day have his own. He taught Ladybug to love what she did while she taught him to be logical, he needed it, she needed it. So without further thought, he nodded, "S-Sure."

_

Adrien was a nervous wreck the next day as he sat on a modelling chair while one of his father's workers gelled his hair back. He was dreading Ladybug's arrival, he couldn't possibly pose with her without blushing.

He was lucky that it was a Saturday, so he didn't have to go to school to be questioned by all of his classmates on how it was modelling with Ladybug. Ladybug was just as famous as he was and to add both of them in one photoshoot, would bring up the excitement of all Parisians, literally. 

He didn't even realize his cheeks went red at the thought of standing beside his crush before the lady cut in through his thoughts, "Are you alright, Adrien?"

"F-Fine." he choked out, patting his cheeks to seem as if he was just hot, "It's just a little hot in here, that's all."

Before he could reset his expression to a more modest one, a faint zip of a yo-yo escalated through the walls of the change room as Ladybug made an entrance into the premises of the TV station photoshoot. Adrien's jaw practically dropped when she entered the room, for her hair was done up in larger and much more flowy ribbons than usual.

"L-Ladybug!" the woman who was currently doing Adrien's hair eyes widened as she dropped the gel and rushed to grab her cell phone, "Mr. Agreste will be in with you shortly."

"Take your time." the heroine gave one of her signature smiles as the brown-haired lady rushed out of the room, Adrien immediately having the thought that he was practically doomed now, being alone with Ladybug.

"Hey, Adrien, right?" she blushed as she strode over to his seat and held her hand out, "Nice to see you again.."

The blond nodded as he hesitantly shook her hand, the feeling of his image being disastrous immediately flooding his mindset. Was his hair okay? Were his clothes ruined, dirty or impractical? Was he blushing, oh, he better not be blushing or else...

"Adrien?" his thoughts were interrupted by her melancholy voice, the model immediately whipping his head up to meet her gaze, twisting his neck in the process. 

Heck, was he a mess.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Are you alright?" she questioned again, placing the back of her hand on his forehead and one on his cheek, "You're not sick, are you?"

"No, no!" he quickly dejected as sweat crawled down his forehead. His hair soon felt wetter than usual as the contact of his lady's suit against his forehead did bad things to his formal composure. He felt as if he was going to explode any minute from just a measly touch of her hand on his skin. Sure, as Chat Noir he wasn't such a lovesick mess but as Adrien, he could practically die right now. Scanning his surroundings, he luckily found a water bottle and immediately reached his hand out for it, Ladybug throwing him a questioning look as he immediately yanked the cap off and started chugging down the contents.

"I-It's hot in here." he gulped down the liquid as fast as he could, earning a giggle from his partner.

"You seem tense." she concluded, crossing her arms as she watched the boy screw the cap back onto the bottle and place it on the surface before him, "You know, it's okay to be nervous, I usually am quite nervous as well when I have to be in the public eye."

He blinked once, twice, thrice, then shot his hands up and quickly shook his head, the pain from twisting it earlier still lingering, "No, no! Nervous, me? Pssh, never!"

She raised an eye before a smug smirk pulled on her lips, "Whatever you say, Sunshine."

Before Adrien could respond, Nathalie rushed inside the dressing room, holding a white high-tech tablet that had the head of Gabriel Agreste displayed on its screen.

"Hello, Ladybug." his emotionless voice buzzed through the screen, the spotted heroine nodding.

"Same to you, Mr. Agreste."

"The photoshoot will take place in the TV station room, Ms. Ladybug," Nathalie said coldly, eyeing the heroine's earrings that were glistening from the LED lightbulb screwed at the ceiling of the room.

Marinette nodded, automatically bringing her hand up and touched her ear, Nathalie's gaze immediately tearing off of her and onto her boss' son.

"U-Um... okay then, we can go, I guess." Adrien chuckled, standing up with a big thud, for once losing his sense of surroundings and stumbled upon a piece of clothing on the floor, about to fall before Ladybug with her superhero reflexes dived in to catch him, but failed miserably as the inequivalent weight Adrien had in that position sent them both face-first into the floor.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Ladybug!" the model immediately picked himself up and lent a hand to the girl of his dreams, who was possessing a wonky smile on her features.

"N-No worries." she smiled, both of them only then spotting Nathalie's and Mr. Agreste's questioning looks.

The two teens gulped, their heads hanging low as they both exited the change room. Once their bodies were outside the room, a swarm of people began making their way over to them, hairdressers, makeup artists, photographers. Everyone was spilling their information onto the poor helpless teenagers who were standing there awkwardly, nodding absentmindedly as they tried listening, but failed miserably.

All were silenced by the photographer who shouted 'Stop!' and made his way over to the teens, scanning their outfits and figures intently before nodding in approval.

"Ah, yes. I know exactly what this pair needs."

He grabbed a glass cleaner rag and squeakily wiped his camera lens, two assistants pushing the two onto the center stage, reporter Nadja Chamack soon making her way through the crowd.

"Mr. Agreste!" she discreetly waved, Adrien's face becoming as red as a tomato as he felt another body being pushed up beside him, but immediately regained his modelling cool and nodded.

"What do you have to say about Ladybug modelling with you?"

He scratched the nape of his neck awkwardly before a somewhat dreamy smile tugged on his lips, "O-Oh, well, I'm really glad she can make it today since she was informed on such short notice. I think it's a pretty great opportunity, it's not like everyone gets to model with Ladybug every day."

The reporter nodded as two helpers frantically scribbled down Adrien's exact words onto a clipboard, the cameraman zooming the lenses focus on Ladybug next as Nadja cleared her throat.

"Ladybug, what do you have to say about modelling with the famous supermodel, Adrien Agreste?"

A makeup lady who was currently doing the heroine's makeup rushed off the scene, Marinette taking a moment to respond as she stole a sideways glance of Adrien. "I'm very happy to be here. Usually, I'm not really much of a person to attend public events, but this will do good to the Agreste brand and I'm happy to help in any way."

Another hoard of whispers invaded the photoshoot room as Ladybug's face scrunched up unusually. Did I make a mistake saying that? Oh God, what would Adrien think???

She didn't even notice that Adrien was practically staring at her with his eyes softened and caring until Nadja Chamack threw them another question.

"Mr. Agreste, Ladybug. Rumours spread today that you two have mutual feelings for each other, in the account of that statement, Parisians think that your love for each other is the reason for this photoshoot. Can you confirm that this is true?"

Marinette felt her whole mind shatter at the question the reporter had asked them, immediately shaking her head wildly and raising her hands in the process. "No, no! Those rumours are definitely fake! We don't even know each other, much less have feelings for each other!"

Unamused to not have her wanted answer, Nadja turned to Adrien, who wasn't even aware of the question asked as he kept staring at Ladybug. "Mr. Agreste, can you confirm that you have feelings for the saviour of Paris?"

"Huh?" the model squeaked, whipping his head to see all gazes on him, the poor boy not even being aware of the question asked.

Soon, he felt Ladybug's bluebell eyes pierce right through him, multiple answers to what he could reply with entering his mindset. Was he going to take the chance to guess or make a total fool of himself and ask what the question was?

His father was here, he couldn't ruin the image of the Agreste brand to the public eye, or his reputation which his father was trying to craft into perfection. So he replied with the first word that came to his mind.

"Y-Yeah?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh, cliffhanger. Poor Adrien though...


	4. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien locks himself in a storage room closet, Ladybug desperately trying to find him.

Silence.

Adrien blinked once, twice, nothing. No expected nodding, no expected squeals that he had spoken.

Absolutely nothing came out from the crowd before him as they just stared at him. He turned his head to the side to see Ladybug's face that had become pale and almost... horrified.

This was the time he wished that he could just evaporate into thin air, or maybe disappear into a black hole of self pity or something. For once he wished that his mom was here, to get him out of this, or at least someone to comfort him.

Adrien glanced around, catching the glimpse of his father with probably the most angered face in the world and Nathalie, who looked like she was about to faint on the spot but somehow managed to still hold the tablet containing his angered father.

All too soon, the darkness that was eating the blond alive turned into a sudden burst of squeals, millions of photos and people trying to rampage up to him.

He was utterly confused, he didn't even know what was going on until someone shouted, "Adrien is in love with Ladybug! OH MY GOD!"

His mind stopped functioning as his brain sorted and scanned every possibility to why someone would know that.

But all thoughts dissipated as he felt tears prickling his eyes as the image of his angered father to the side floated in his mind. He messed up the image of the Agreste brand and there was no way to undo it now that everyone was practically posting stuff on social media.

He didn't even know he was crying or even something of that sort until he felt his feet moving him, at first slow, but quickly faster as he felt himself pick up the pace and dash down the stage, nearing the exit to the room, pushing past crowds that were trying to get ahold of him.

"ADRIEN!" he then heard that sweet melancholy shriek, but that's when everything turned black.

—

Adrien quickly locked himself into a storage room from inside Mont Parnasse tower and slumped himself to the ground, shrugging off his suit jacket.

Plagg floated out and began speaking, but the model heard nothing of it and wrapped his arms around his knees, rocking gently back and forth as Claustrophobia slowly crept into him, as he only saw black, more black, and just... black.

Black here, black there...

Black.

He sat there, not even daring to cry as tears were threatening to spill out of his eye lids. He immediately rubbed them away, feeling the dry tear stains that slid across his cheeks.

He tried to envision that his mother was there, that someone was there, but nothing came into his mind as he just felt cold, empty and alone. Adrien had just added more darkness to his boundless solitude, he added more pain to his father's image and well, embarrassment towards his lady.

He hadn't meant to say it, but again, he was just being a lovesick teenager that didn't pay enough attention to his surroundings.

He gripped onto his hair, mentally cursing for messing everything up... again. Whatever his father expected of him... now was gone. The only chance he got to model with Ladybug... was gone. The last time he could probably go to a public school... was gone.

He felt like whatever he did was a mistake. Almost as if everything leading up to this moment... was a mistake.

The green-eyed boy began teary-eyed blinking, trying to clear his vision of the darkness around him, but yet to no avail. 

It was almost as if all of his life was darkness. He had no light to it. He once did, his mother once shown him light, but then she was gone.

Why wasn't the world kind to him? Why wasn't the world kind to him when he was kind to the world? 

"Come on, kid. So you didn't hear the question properly, but there's still a way to clear things up."

"Maybe with them..." he sighed, finally being able to see the piercing neon green eyes of his kwami who was floating beside him, "But not with my father."

He knew that he was right. There was no way his father would ever forgive him. There was no way in the universe that his father would let him have free time now.

There was no way that he expected anything... no way that he could free himself from this closet as he started shaking violently with fear.

Then he began to cry. Not just because of the photoshoot or stupid Claustrophobia, but about everything. About the future, the past, the present. All three of them, and what had become of him.

Ladybug knew. His father knew. Everyone knew...

That he was dumb enough to say that.

Before he could even collect himself together, he heard a gentle knock on the closet door.

—

"Adrien?" Ladybug slowly questioned as she knocked onto a closet door.

She was worried sick, worried sick that Adrien may have locked himself in something when she clearly knew that he was scared of being locked up from Riposte.

So she began to try and get into every tight space.

She knocked again, but no sounds came out. She tried opening the door knob, but it would budge.

"Adrien?" she tried again, pressing her ear against the door to hear the gentle hum of sniffling.

"Adrien!" she gapsed, immediately trying to open the door again, but with much more force than the last time. It didn't budge. She rushed down the hall and to a service desk, scaring the living daylight out of the woman who stood behind the desk.

"L-Ladybug!" she gasped, the bluenette nodding quickly as she pointed over to the closet.

"Do you have the key to the storage room?"

"Y-Yes." the blond nodded as she immediately began searching her post of keys, until coming across a small silver one.

"Here." she handed the heroine the object, Ladybug nodding thankfully as she rushed over to the doors of the room and began fiddling the key into the lock.

"I'm coming, Adrien." she whispered, turning the metal key into the slot one more time before it squeaked open with a click.


	5. Emilie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien admits to Ladybug that his mother is the one who usually comforts him

Ladybug slowly peeked her head through the crack of the open door, the burst of blackness immediately engulfing her vision as she squinted her eyes, trying to see through the jet black dark.

In the middle of the room, invisible to the public eye and the world surrounding him, sat Adrien Agreste, who was rocking back and forth in his little space of solitude.

"You okay?" Ladybug whispered as she entered the room, not even being aware that the door closed behind her.

She blindly made her way over to him, nearly tripping over something in the process as she crouched down before him. She smiled, before reaching her hand out to him, "Adrien?"

"I'm fine." he shrugged it off like it was no big deal, his eyes looking up to see the faint blue shimmer of his lady's beautiful sea-blue eyes.

"Don't lock yourself up again." she scolded gently, placing her hand on his shoulder as he shivered from the brief contact, "It gives you more anxiety than you need."

"I'm fine." he whispered again, burying his face into his arms, "Really."

Marinette wasn't buying it. So she sat behind him as she placed her hand on the model's shoulder, "You know, don't forget to ask comfort from others. Some problems just overweigh the amount we're capable of dealing with on our own, but from the help of the right people, we can overcome that."

Adrien's vision clouded as his eyes were foggy from the previous tears, dryly gulping down his stinging throat as he whispered, "My mother, Emilie, used to say that."

Ladybug froze. He had never mentioned anything about his mother before, he had never been open about his family to anyone. Not even Nino knew much about his mother.

"Well then, she was right. I'm open to chat if you would like. I think you need it." she smiled even wider as she strode up beside the blond, crouching down on her knees again and cupped Adrien's cheek, lifting his face to meet her eyes, "It's okay to cry, Adrien. Everyone cries, not just the weak."

"I can't cry." he muttered under his breath as he chocked back another sob, "It'll ruin my father's image."

"You're always worrying about others. Let's think about Adrien for a change." the red-costumed girl insisted, while the model nodded slowly.

"My mother-" Adrien started, lowering his gaze to his knees, "She was always there to comfort me when I made a mistake. Yet, whenever I make a mistake nowadays, it just seems that I'm- that I'm adding more pain to my father then I should."

"You are not. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone cries, so what makes you different that you can't?"

The blond sighed, miserably meeting her gaze, "My father-"

"Ah ah ah." the heroine clicked her tongue disapprovingly, placing a finger on Adrien's lips to silence him, leaning in closer before she was a few inches away from his face, "Your father is out of the question. What makes you, yourself, Adrien Agreste, different?"

The boy blinked a couple of times before tearing his gaze off of Ladybug, "My status."

Ladybug's mind stopped. Status. It rang through her mind, buzzed through her ears, the word itself bringing meaning to her. Without warning, she immediately pulled Adrien into a hug, burying her face in the model's neck as tears were threatening to spill from her eyes, leaving Adrien to gasp.

"I'm here, Adrien. I'm here." she muttered, rubbing his back gently, "You don't have to pretend. Just be yourself with me"

"I-I" he started, but then was cut off when Ladybug muttered;

"Always."

—

Adrien gulped as Ladybug fiddled with the key to try and get them out of the storage closet.

"It won't budge!" she groaned, pushing the object through the slot even further.

"A-Are we stuck in here?" Adrien questioned hesitantly as he waited for a response. Ladybug pressed her lips together, closing her eyes as she slowly turned to him.

"D-Don't be scared- please. Right now the key isn't really working and-"

"We're locked," he concluded, the feeling of Claustrophobia soon creeping it's way up to his chest.

His breathing became heavier, more inconsistent as he tried to calm himself. Adrien's eyes fluttered closed as he clutched his chest, trying to think happy thoughts as he tried and envisioned his mother.

"...Adrien?"

No response as his breathing became louder. He slumped to the ground, Ladybug getting the feeling that he was going to have a heart attack and slid down beside him immediately, wrapping her arms around him as she gently rocked the violently shaking with fear teenager. "Hey, Adrien, it's okay. There's a way out. Please, breathe for me, please, Adrien."

"I-I..." he tried to respond but felt his voice being cut off as a whimper escaped his lips, pressing himself closer to Ladybug as he tried to restrain the heavy breathing.

"It's alright, Adrien, you're doing great." she cooed, rubbed his back gently, "Breathe with me, in, out, in, out, okay?"

Ladybug breathed in, Adrien doing the same, then they exhaled. They repeated this a few times as Adrien's shaking slowly died down. "There." the heroine smiled, slowly getting up but the model latched onto her immediately.

Marinette looked around, spotting a small closed door at the top of the room. Her eyes lit up, "Adrien, I can get us out of here. I'll go through the trap door and come back to the other side to unlock the door, okay? Will you be fine?"

"Y-Yeah..." he slowly agreed, the fear that once left soon quickly entering him.

"Breathe, Sunshine." she smiled as she swung her yo-yo around a nearby post and pulled herself up, removing the slot to the door open, "Think of me, your mother, alright?"

"Y-Yeah."

Then she was gone. She left him, by himself, locked inside a room with no possible way out. Plagg immediately zipped out of his holder's blazer, eyeing the blond who began breathing heavier again.

"Think of Ladybug." he insisted, setting himself onto his shoulder, "I could unlock the door, but that would be suspicious. She won't leave you, you don't need to worry."

Then Adrien nodded, slowly stealing a sideways glance of the locked door. Ladybug would never leave him, would she? Would she be like his father and leave him in the dust? Then his mother appeared in his vision. Ladybug was so alike with her, both had the same beautiful smile that could move mountains and calm one's heart.

He convinced himself that she would come back for him. She would never leave him.

But if he was so sure, then why did he have a slight feeling that she wouldn't?


	6. Tongue-Tied

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug accidentally lets out that she likes Adrien, leaving both of them completely tongue-tied.

Ladybug pushed through a ventilator and climbed out into a hallway, gently placing the exit blockage back into place. She hurriedly ran down the hall, racking her brain to remember the storage closet. There were millions so alike, it could practically be any room.

She wanted Adrien to not feel scared, she wanted him to be happy and wear that beautiful smile of his. She promised him that she would open the door, so therefore she had to find the right room.

Come on, Marinette. She pressed herself to move forward, Put everything aside. Adrien needs your help.

Millions of the same brown doors were all displayed for her in one hallway. She had to take her chance. She had to figure out which one it was. But then she remembered the reception desk. It was the one closest to the reception desk.

Hurry. The word screamed in her head as she took off in the direction of the front desk, Hurry.

Ladybug...

She turned around, yet no one was there. She swore she heard her name, she was so sure she heard it call.

Ladybug and Adrien... dating?

"What?!" the heroine jumped again, but this time only a group of girls were passing by, looking at her weirdly before walking out of the TV station.

No. She couldn't get the previous events out from her head no matter how hard she tried. It was an impossible task, to forget the declaration the public made about her relationship with Adrien. But all this time, she was the one he was looking at?

Marinette!

She zipped her head around, yet nothing to no avail. There was no one around. It was just that voice at the back of her head. The voice that slowed down her route.

"No." she finally concluded, shaking all thoughts from her head and returned to running. Her eyes lit up as she found her destination, quickly fiddling the key in the lock and triumphantly opened it.

As expected, Adrien stood there, his face regaining its former colour as he dashed out of the closet, panting heavily from the previous suffering alone he had been doing. "You came..." he managed to sputter out, his eyes glistening in joy as he stood up, looking down at Ladybug, "You actually came."

Marinette's eyes saddened, "Of course I came. I would never leave you, Adrien." 

His eyes widened, "R-Really?"

"Really." she concluded, a hopeful smile planting on her lips, "Now, I don't think it is the best idea to go back there..."

"My father will kill me..." the model cut in, a faint blush tainted on his cheeks as he struggled to meet her gaze, "I-I didn't mean to-"

But before he could finish his sentence, Ladybug swooped him up, grabbing her yo-yo and zipped out of the tower and into the streets of Paris.

Adrien was quite amazed by the view. Even if he saw the same view every single time he was roaming the streets of Paris as his feline counterpart, he never really fully took in the beauty of his city. It was amazing, being in the arms of a superhero while she zipped across Paris.

To Adrien, it felt like a lifetime, but the clock told him otherwise as the bluenette came close to his mansion. She zipped through the always-open window, dropping Adrien down on his bedroom floor.

"Thanks, LB." he smiled, nervously scratching the nape of his neck.

"Don't sweat it. Anyway, you were saying-?"

"Oh..." the blond cleared his throat, nervously chuckling as he met her eyes, "I- I didn't mean to say that, I was confused and-"

Marinette smiled, placing her hand on his shoulder, "Hey, don't worry about it, I love you too."

Wait a second. Ladybug's face immediately grew red as she frantically waved her hands around, trying to cover up her face with something. "No no! I didn't mean that! What I meant is- you know! Ugh."

—

Adrien didn't hear a single word she was saying as he just stared at her, with the weirdest facial expression he ever had. She loved... him? For real? So all this time... he was the boy she loved?

"R-Really?" he managed to whisper, Ladybug whipping her head around to look at him.

"I-I..." she started, watching her foot kick the ground before she met his beautiful emerald eyes, "Yeah... I guess so."

Just then, the clock struck three, the heroine awkwardly smiling before she waved slightly and immediately jumped out the window. 

"Ladybug... wait!" Adrien shouted after her, but Marinette couldn't process anything as she couldn't feel her toes.

She couldn't feel anything as a small, dreamy smile pulled at her lips, only to escape a sigh. She couldn't believe it. She definitely didn't expect him to reciprocate her feelings, well, more so Ladybug's feelings. She didn't know what to think as she felt her feet touch the wood-panned base of her balcony.

Adrien Agreste admitted to the whole world that he was in love with her, yet, she was left completely tongue-tied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the absolutely short chapter!


	7. Surprise Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is surprised to find that Ladybug paid him a surprise visit, but their time is cut short as an akuma breaks loose.

Adrien awoke the next morning to the eager sound of whining. He knew that sound all too well, so it wasn't a surprise when he awoke to find Plagg miserably flying over him, with a small chunk of cheese in hand.

"Is this all?" he grumbled, upset as he munched on the provided slice of camembert, "I cannot make do with such a measly small chunk for breakfast!"

"And I cannot make do what my father is going to have to say about yesterday." Adrien retorted, his scowl turning into a smile as he reached into his night drawer and grabbed a slice of camembert and threw it in his kwami's direction, who eagerly accepted it by swallowing it whole.

"I told you since the first day, kiddo." the kwami smirked, setting himself down on his holder's desk, "You sure would mess things up."

"Yep." the blond sighed, glancing over at his computer. He got up, strode over there and opened the news. Sure enough, a new article was published with the headline;  
'Adrien Agreste and Ladybug dating?!'

He sighed, shoving the tears that threatened to spill out as the image of his father's angered face entered his vision. Yep, he was screwed. So terribly screwed.

Then another thought entered his mind. Ladybug said she liked me.

Wait.

LADYBUG SAID SHE LIKED ME!

"What?!" he jumped up, rushing over to his kwami and immediately grabbed him, looking intently at the bewildered creature, "You heard everything yesterday, right?"

"Um..." Plagg still confused, scowled, "Duh."

"Did Ladybug admit to reciprocating my feelings or not?" he demanded, almost immediately a switch being flipped to turn the creature's face from a scowl to a hoard of cackling.

"Kid... you forgot, seriously? Duh." 

"WHAT?!" he yelped, pulling at his blond locks of hair as he let go of the God-like creature, "How could I have forgotten?!"

Almost immediately, a knock on the door followed, Adrien scrambling to grab a change of clothes and rushed quickly to the bathroom, quickly putting them on as Plagg floated around the room, bemused to all that was happening. Truth be told, he did feel sorry for the kid. But he wasn't going to show that.

"Adrien?" a strict and modest voice called out, definitely belonging to Nathalie, "Are you in there?"

"Coming!" the model shouted, quickly combing his hair one last time as he dashed out of the door, his kwami that enabled him to transform into his alter ego safely hidden and threw open the door.

"Mr. Agreste would like to have a word with you." the assistant eyed him carefully, "In the dining room."

"Thanks, Nathalie." Adrien felt his heart drop as he followed the lady to the dining room, where his father sat with an emotionless expression as he swiped through his collections on a tablet.

Nathalie soon quickly left to his father's side, Gabriel soon taking notice of the arrival of his son, "Sit down."

Adrien gulped and pulled out a chair, his head hanging low as he stared at the cold dish of breakfast before him.

"How could you insult the company like that, Adrien?!" the booming voice of his father made him nearly fall off his seat as he struggled to meet his angered gaze.

"I-I'm sorry Father..."

"Sorry is not enough to fix the damages!" he barked, "What would everyone think? That you're some sort of Cassanova?! What were you thinking?!"

"I'm not, I swear!" Adrien quickly replied, trying with all of his might to keep his voice from cracking, "I didn't mean to say that, Father! I was confused about what the question was being asked!"

"This has serious damages to the Agreste name." Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose as he adjusted his glasses, "Your photoshoots will double, your free time will be limited to the lowest amount, and if such a thing ever happens, or I even see you near Ladybug, you will be pulled out of school."

"WHAT?" Adrien yelled, his voice slowly becoming quieter after, "But Father, it was a mistake! I didn't mean to-"

"Do you even know how much damage this so-called 'mistake' brought to us?!" the man stood up, shadowing over the figure of his son, "It's all over the news, Adrien. Soon it'll be over the news worldwide. There is no way to undo this mistake. This mistake has more drastic effects than you think!"

"But I can fix it!" the blond responded hopefully, "I can just admit that I didn't mean to say that!"

"I does not work that way, Adrien." Gabriel barked, his hands fisting as he brought them behind his back, "A simple confrontation won't solve such a large rumour. Obviously, you haven't learned anything about social media on the Agreste Foundation. Nathalie will begin your lessons next week. That will result in no free time at all. Dismissed."

With all of his might, Adrien stood up, not even listening to Nathalie who was shouting after him to have breakfast. He couldn't bear to see his father angry because of him. He had to fix this, or else he would never be allowed to go to school again.

He ran into his room and slumped down onto his bed, his kwami giving him a hard look as a faint thud at the large windows was heard.

Plagg quickly zoomed into his camembert-eating hiding spot; Adrien's garbage bin as the figure slouched down to greet his holder, "...Adrien?"

"Huh?!" the model shot up from his bed to in fact see Ladybug crouching down on the frame of his large windows, "What are you doing here?"

"...surprise?" she chuckled, but her facial expression changed as soon as she noticed Adrien's down-look expression, "I just came to make sure you're okay..."

"You better get out of here." the model sighed as he rubbed his arm apologetically and strode over to the window, "My father could see you and then..."

"What happened?" she cut in, jumping down into her crush's room and tentatively looked over at him.

"Nothing... important." the blond lied through his teeth, forcing the edge of his mouth to quirk up into a wonky smile, "So... um- about yesterday..."

"Oh!" the bluenette squeaked, her face immediately flushing a deep red colour, "Oh yeah- um..."

Before they could ponder further on it, a loud shriek was heard, followed by a loud crash.

BANG!

"Uhhhh..." Adrien started, a gulp emanating from the back of his throat as he chuckled nervously and looked at his lady determinately, "I think there may be an akuma..."

"I gotta split!" the heroine quickly spoke, patting his shoulder as she sent him her signature smile that reminded him all too much of his mother, "I'll meet you here after, okay?"

The green-eyed boy nodded dreamily before his eyes widened as Ladybug started to zip away, "Ladybug! Wait!"

But it was no use. She already was zipping through the streets of Paris to try and locate the source of the sound. He couldn't possibly say no to that after all his heart did yearn for human contact these days as it only seemed that he was stuck in his boundless solitude. 

"My, my. A date with your lady I presume?" Plagg popped his head out of the bin and flew over to Adrien who threw him a glare.

"Shut up... Plagg claws out!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this late chapter!


	8. Second Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is asked to become Aspik once again; but the model feels guilty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Inspired by a Comic.)

(Inspired by a comic.)

Adrien landed beside his lady who was scanning the area before she gulped. She recognized the villain from first glance, even though it was just a measly calculated guess.

"Luka..." Marinette sighed as she watched him start to play his guitar again, zapping a nearby pedestrian who disappeared within thin air. Nearby, a trumpet fell down from nowhere, followed by another stash of them.

"He's turning people into musical instruments!" she gasped, realizing the sudden impact beside her as she turned over to her partner, "If we get zapped, it's all over. No second chance."

Chat Noir blinked questionably at her, but smiled as he knew what she was up to, "We need a recruit, huh, M'lady?"

"Yep." she smirked, patting his shoulder before grabbing her yo-yo out, "Distract the villain while I go get Adrien Agreste!"

The feline-like hero, nodded, about to start wandering off to fight the villain before he froze in place. He quickly zipped over to his lady but she was already gone, "M'lady! Wait!"

No response as he sighed. Yet again he would be Aspik... just great. Another excuse to just mess everything up like the last time. Another few months of torcher... he didn't want to go through that painful route again.

So without much thinking, as well as trying to put his heart at ease, Adrien extended his baton and landed in a nearby alleyway, letting his transformation loose as a grumpy Plagg emerged from out of his miraculous.

"I take it you're doing this for you lady." he empathized the last word, which only received a loud groan from the model, "You know from last time that you won't get anywhere."

"I know, Plagg." he sighed, combing his hair back as he felt his eyes roll to the back of his head from total annoyance of the combination of the day's previous events, "But what choice do I have? If I decline... it may- just maybe..."

"Oh for the love of cheese, Kid." the creature snickered, setting himself down on Adrien's shoulder as he kept on bickering, "You know all these people are blind. Plus, you know deep down that being with Ladybug as Adrien was all you ever wanted... especially after she admitted to liking you."

It was true that Adrien didn't really decide to question Ladybug about her confession. He didn't really think about it much either with all that was going on in his quotidian life. He had so many scheduled meetings and lessons that it was crazy. He was half expecting Nathalie to be barging into his room right by now, only to find it empty. There was nothing he could do, this was his duty. He has to fulfill his duty as a superhero... and put everyone above himself.

He admitted that tucked at the bottom of his heart, a little part of him did want to so badly turn into Aspik again. He could redo anything countless times, after messing up as he usually did so. He knew it would bring him no good, yet he was tied between. An endless game of tug a war, as his heart would always rule superior over him.

"Okay, I have to go find her," he said determinedly, not even listening to his kwami speak as he took off, expecting Plagg to be in hiding by now. He had to make himself noticed, but not too noticed that he would get zapped by the akumatized villain. He had to obtain an equivalent balance. Not one part of his body thought about Chat Noir, nor about the last time he had become the snake-like hero. All he thought about was that Ladybug said she needed him...

So therefore he would be at her service.

_

"Do you think this is the right choice, Marinette?" Tikki questioned her holder as she ran out of the park.

"Of course it is!" she started again, clutching the miraculous in her hand and dropped it in her purse, "We have no choice!"

"If this is just so you can spend time around Adrien, then find someone else!" the kwami urged her as she ran into a hiding spot to transform, "Remember that the public still thinks you're dating him. They could pop up from anywhere to take pictures."

"I know I know, it'll be okay, Tikki, I promise." Marinette nodded as the kwami let a sigh slip out. She knew Marinette all too well to say the least. She knew when she was being unreasonable and acting like a love-sick fool. Adrien admitting his feelings to her was a mistake from the first place, even if she didn't look smart from the first encounter, Marinette was smart as heck.

"Just- be careful. Okay?"

"I will." the bluenette nodded determinately as the red-spotted kwami zipped out of the bag, "Time to go transform. Tikki, spots on!"

_

Adrien paced back and forth as he waited for the heroine to show up any minute. For once, he wasn't even thinking about what the villain was doing as he kept turning people into instruments. He just couldn't get Ladybug out of his head, even if he desperately wanted to. It felt all too real that she liked him. He knew it was selfish that he wasn't trying to stop the akuma from doing harm, but his feet didn't want to move. He stood paralyzed in the middle of the streets, waiting for her to show up.

Before he knew it, he heard an evil cackle, the blond slowly turning around to see that the akumatized victim was behind him, his guitar ready in hand to start making a fatal blow.

That's when all thoughts interrupted him. He had messed up... badly. If he were to get hit... that would mean NO Chat Noir and NO Aspik.

His blood running cold, Adrien slowly took a step forward but was cut off as soon as he saw the villain begin the process to hit him. His feet didn't budge. It was that feeling, that gut feeling that made him stay. He didn't know why, but his brain screamed at him to move, to move so he could help Ladybug. But his feet remained as he stared blankly at the figure. In a couple of seconds, he felt himself getting swooped up in arms just as he was about to get blown.

"What are you doing?!" he heard a frantic voice echo through his eardrums. Only then could he realize that Ladybug was the owner of the hands and the person who swooped him up. He was thankful. He was thankful that he listened to his gut feeling for once, "You could have been turned into a freaking instrument, Adrien! Where in one's right mind would stand right in front of danger?!"

"I-" he started, but no words came out as he shut his mouth closed. It was a dumb move, for sure. He didn't even think anymore. All too much was going on in his head. 

"Okay, I need your help." Ladybug sighed as they landed behind a tree, "I need you to become Aspik again and help me defeat the akuma along with Chat Noir."

"Uh- okay." he nodded awkwardly as Ladybug handed him the box containing the snake miraculous.

Adrien gulped, then hesitantly reached his hand out and grabbed it. He felt his kwami's angry eyes from his blazer, he felt his heart twist-up disapprovingly. He felt all signs around him shouting that it was a big mistake. 

But he listened to none of it. So without further ado, he opened the box, Sass greeting him as he slid on the bracelet.

He took the risk to help out his lady. He took the risk to listen to his heart.

"Sass, Scales Slither!"

—

Adrien sighed as he watched Ladybug throw her Lucky Charm up in the air. He couldn't believe it; he had defeated the akuma along with Ladybug's help. But he felt guilty. He felt really guilty for some reason as he watched Luka confusedly glancing around on the ground.

"Follow me." Ladybug whispered in his ear as the two leaped across Paris, and into an alleyway. 

"That was awesome back there! We actually defeated the akuma!" Ladybug gushed, but her eyes saddened as soon as she saw Adrien's down-look expression, who turned his back on her and stared at the ground, "...Adrien?"

"I-" he started, slowly facing her, "I really messed up."

"What do you mean?" she questioned him further, placing her hand reassuringly on his shoulder, "You were great back there! Especially for your second time!"

Aspik blinked, but then sighed as his eyes got lost in her sea-blue ones, "I-It wasn't my first or second time as a superhero..."

He stared down at the miraculous, as the heroine's eyes widened, "W-What do you mean?"

"I'm Adrien." he gulped, slowly taking Ladybug's hand in his and sent a small smile in her direction, "But also Chat Noir. And I've been in love with you since our eyes first met."

Ladybug took a moment to look at his expression, which quickly dissipated the happiness from it as he moved it to the ground.

He hadn't expected to reveal to her. He hadn't expected her to be left speechless. He didn't even expect to become Aspik, to save all of Paris in a different form that he was guilty of.

Adrien Agreste felt guilty of so many things, felt the utter misery in everything. He felt full regret, full depression as his life privileges slowly drifted away from him. Ladybug was there to make him happy. She was there, taking his mother's place to be his comfort.

He wanted to so badly be honest with her, but as soon as the words left his lips, he had been guilty of it.

Of everything.

But the moment he felt heat shiver down his body, he slowly fluttered his eyes open, soon feeling the soft feeling of Ladybug's rosy pink lips meet his.

It felt amazing, blissful, actually. Not one fibre of his body expected her to that. So he was left beyond shook of the action.

"Kitty..." she smiled against his lips, tears practically welling up in her eyes as she caressed his cheek with her thumb, his emerald green eyes meeting hers.

He would stare into them every day if he could, he would be by her side, every day, every hour, every minute, every second, every single moment.

Ladybug continued, "I am so happy it's you. It's you all along." she was practically shedding joyful tears by now, "But you shouldn't have told me your identity."

He felt her embrace him, Adrien smiling into her hair as he wrapped his arms around her, "You're right, M'lady."

He placed his other hand's fingers over his miraculous, "So for you, I'll make everything right."

He slid the snake down, a flash emanating through the dark alleyway.

"Second Chance."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one’s late as well! I was very drowsy when I wrote this, so I think it might be a little hard to read.


	9. Slow Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette finds herself wrapped in the arms of boy of her dreams, in her ladybug-themed alter ego, taking her into a night of romance, of exchanged conversations and a dance. A slow one, that is.

Adrien swung his legs over his bed, his expression nearly dropping as he stared at pure nothingness. He didn't feel like standing up. He didn't feel like doing his homework. He didn't feel like doing anything.

His mind kept wandering over to the day's previous events. What would have happened if he didn't use Second Chance? Would Ladybug have admitted her identity? Would all secrets finally be destroyed? Or would she hold back? Would she hold back and leave him in the dust?

No.

She was clearly happy with the outcome, proof and evidence fulfilled. Yet, he didn't know if he ever would be able to reveal his identity to her ever again, he knew she didn't want to take this step. He knew she was doing this for Paris-

But a part of him so desperately wanted to permanently show her who he was, who he really was behind the black mask, the lame puns and the jokester-personality.

His gaze met the large window panels of his room, staring at the glowing sunset before him.  
True, it was a beautiful sight, but it for some reason felt dull, lifeless. It was as if his brain was taking out the beauty from the earth, while his heart travelled back to the red-costumed superheroine.

Thoughts back to what she had said earlier ran through his mind.

She had promised she would come back to visit him. He wanted her to do so, even if he would get in trouble with his father, he wouldn't care.

Another minute passed.

It had only been a few minutes since they defeated the villain, maybe she was refuelling or-

The loud thump of a figure entering his room invaded all of Adrien's thoughts as he abruptly stood up, greeting the heroine who had entered his room.

"Great job out there!" Ladybug praised him, striding up before the boy, "We defeated the villain so quickly that I still have four minutes to spare."

A smile tugged on Adrien's lips. He was overly touched that she had decided to spend her last few minutes saved with him.

Ladybug then took notice of the blond's radio that had been playing a R&B song, "You like music?”

"Yeah."

The upbeat music that had been playing on Adrien's radio soon turned into the music that he and Marinette danced to on Chloe's party.

Ladybug blushed at this, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "This is my favourite song."

Adrien's eyes widened, rubbing the back of his neck as he exhaled, "Really?”

She nodded, her shy ego taking over her as she nervously fiddled with her hands.

Adrien smiled, bowing before her as she stared at the gesture, "Say, do you know how to dance?"

The heroine froze, her mind travelling back to the time she and Adrien had danced to this song in her civilian form, "Um- yeah... why-?"

But before she could continue her sentence, the blond grabbed her hand, leading her into the middle of his room, positioning themselves into a position Marinette dearly remembered all too well.

"What are you doing?" Ladybug arched a brow but gasped as soon as she felt Adrien's hand on her waist. The action sent shivers up her spine as she struggled to keep herself down on earth. It was kind of hard to in the model's prescense.

Adrien cleared his throat, replacing his flirtatious grin with a cheeky smile as his eyes shimmered from the ray of sunlight casting upon the two teenagers, "May I have this dance, M'lad- I mean, LB?"

A smile formed on the hero's thin lips as she pressed them together, slightly nodding her head. She knew she had done this before. There was no reason to get over-worked for nothing.

But there was something different.

It was the aura, the room, the ego, the admitted feelings. It was that sense of communication that lifted her to her tiptoes, to touch the clouds, out to an imaginary world where everything was perfect, just them slowly rocking to a soft lullaby.

Ladybug didn't even realize that she and Adrien were gliding through his room in a slow 3/4 time. It was a graceful waltz as she let Adrien be the dominant one in the dance. By this point, she wondered where the night would take her. What would happen in their future if they kept being vague about their feelings?

"Ladybug?" a gentle voice hummed as the heroine let her head fall on the blond's shoulder, "Can I ask you something?"

"Mhm," she mumbled, too dazed by the events to force the air out of her lungs, yet somehow managed to keep herself on her feet.

"Did you- did you actually admit to liking me? I mean- more than a friend?" Adrien questioned, smiling through Ladybug's locks of midnight hair. It was surprisingly... a faint smell of cinnamon?

Marinette tensed up at this, their dance being cut short as she just stared at the model's bedroom floor, her head still visibly on his shoulder, "Uh- well, you see... maybe?"

They continued slow dancing in silence, both deeply in thought. A gentle breeze blew by from Adrien's open window, as the song continued beating through the radio.

Ladybug shivered due to the sudden impact of cold, but soon regained heat as she pressed herself further into the teenage boy. Their bodies moved in sync, slowly grazing the floor as they slightly turned.

To Adrien, it felt oddly familiar as a sense of déjà-vu crossed his mind. But... felt familiar to what? "So it's true then?"

The bluenette nodded slightly, "Yeah... I guess."

"Wow." he breathed, removing his head from on top of the heroine's head and looked into her sapphire blue eyes.

Soon, the two teens felt a tingle run up their backs, as they kept lovingly staring into their eyes. A spark of- what was it? Love? Hope? Wanting?

Did they want to choose this path? Did they want to fulfill their undying love? Did they want to admit their identities? Or did they want to keep the wall of secrets between them?

Marinette felt an increasing warm heat run across her face, as well as her hands as a pink light evaporated into the room, only then could she realize that she was in fact detransforming.

"Oh my gosh!" she gasped, ripping herself from Adrien's grasp as she ran to the window, her costume beginning to melt away, "Um- I'll see you later, Adrien. Love you! I MEAN- argh."

She quickly grabbed her yo-yo, zipping out of the blond's room as the music ended. Adrien just stood in the middle of his room, pretty much dazed from the close proximity he had with the girl of his dreams.

"Well well, Casanova. Got yourself a new contender?" Plagg smirked as he zipped out of his hiding spot.

"Shut up." Adrien muttered, then proceeded to face plant into his bed.

Yep. If Adrien Agreste could choose a road right now;

It definitely wouldn't be this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late chapter! I’m working on the next right now.

**Author's Note:**

> Ladrien June is here! I am excited to see how this story will unfold!


End file.
